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Moore fighting back to full fitness as he looks ahead to PyeongChang 2018

on 13-11-2017 13:33

The Paralympic season is hardly the time in which to pick up a freak injury yet Ben Moore has managed to suffer one you’ve probably never even heard of.

Snowboarder Moore, looking to make his Paralympic debut in PyeongChang next year, bent a bone in his left foot on the first snow day of the season in Chile.

It’s an injury that couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Plymouth man as he was forced to swap the slopes for the sofa as recovery got underway.

But this month looks set to be the one Moore finally straps himself back onto the board.

He’s expecting to make his first competitive appearance of the season in December, and with World Championship bronze already under his belt in 2017, there’s little chance he’ll be taking it easy.

“It was our first day back on snow after being snowed in in Corralco, and it felt so nice to be back,” Moore said of his injury mishap.

“We were riding gates and I decided to point my board down the hill and really give it some, but I hit a rut and went over the front of my board with two cartwheels!

“It’s not actually broken, I managed to bend a bone in my foot which I didn’t even know was physically possible, so that’s another one on the tally sheet I can cross off.

“We think my foot is healing well and I’ve been in the gym getting as strong as I can, we’re taking the right steps towards being the athlete I intend to be.

“I’m planning on heading to Finland later this month and that’s going to be when I get back on the snow.

“We head to Breckenridge in Colorado in December which will coincide with a Nationals event in America, and that should be my season debut.”

"After all these years of training and competing, it would be so overwhelming to go to PyeongChang." Ben Moore

Moore first took to the snow in 2011 and since then has racked up an impressive medal collection – including three at World Championship-level and the 2015 overall World Cup title.

Snowboarding was only added to the Paralympic programme in 2014 – under the umbrella of alpine skiing while Moore’s classification did not feature - but PyeongChang will see the sport expanded into a discipline in its own right, with ten medals events to be contested.

And with the chance to realise his dreams rapidly approaching on the horizon, Moore is determined to take full advantage of the opportunity.

“After all of these years of training and competing, it would be so overwhelming to go to PyeongChang,” he said.

“We’ve talked about it for the last couple of years and after not being able to compete at Sochi, it would be a dream come true.

“I’d like to hope my World Championship medals mean I’m up there with the ones to beat.

“I know the competition is getting bigger and everybody is getting better with all of the years of practice and coaching we’ve had.

“It’s onwards and upwards from here and hopefully I can be in contention to get a medal should I make it to PyeongChang.”